CFSICFSI

Topics  |  Consumer Credit

Includes credit cards, small dollar credit, and alternative credit data and underwriting.

Research Papers

Highlights from the 4th Annual Underbanked Financial Services Forum

The Underbanked Financial Services Forum has become a bellwether for the industry serving the underbanked. Judging by this year’s Fourth Annual Forum, presented by SourceMedia with the Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI), the industry is strong. Despite challenging times for the ...

21 pp.   
Posted: August 2009

PERC RESEARCH-Fully Reporting Nonfinancial Payment Data: Impact on Customer Payment Behavior and Furnisher Costs and Benefits

CFSI is proud to have partnered with PERC on their latest research report, “Fully Reporting Nonfinancial Payment Data: Impact on Customer Payment Behavior and Furnisher Costs and Benefits.” The report surveyed 70 telecommunications and utilities companies and over 1,000 consumers. Key ...

Posted: April 2009

Highlights from the 3rd Annual Underbanked Financial Services Forum

by Sarah Berke, Alejandra Lopez-Fernandini, and Michaeal J. Herrmann

Having recognized the great opportunity underbanked consumers represent for financial services, participants at the Third Annual Underbanked Financial Services Forum turned their attention to better understanding this potential market. The forum, presented by SourceMedia in conjunction with the Center for Financial Services ...

18 pp.   
Posted: October 2008

A Fundamental Need: Small-Dollar, Short-Term Credit

by Michael J. Herrmann and Jennifer Tescher

A dramatic series of events related to small-dollar value, short-term credit has unfolded over the last 18 months. Legislators, regulators, and the financial services industry have been closely scrutinizing the payday loan industry and creating market incentives for private-sector innovation. As a ...

23 pp.   
Posted: July 2008

The CFSI Underbanked Consumer Study Fact Sheet

The purpose of the study was to conduct a segmentation analysis of underbanked and unbanked consumers based on attitudes, behaviors and experiences relative to both formal and informal financial services, products, and institutions.  Four industry leaders co-sponsored the study with CFSI: ...

Posted: June 2008

The Predictive Value of Alternative Credit Scores

by Rachel Schneider, Arjan Schütte

As many as 70 million adults in the United States have no credit score or a limited credit history with the traditional credit bureaus. These consumers represent an important opportunity for lenders to access a new market. But without the development and application ...

18 pp.   
Posted: November 26, 2007

Toward Better Informed Consumers: A Collection of Strategies from Financial Institutions

by Kimberly Gartner

Federal regulators first required credit card disclosures in 1968 as a way to help consumers make better-informed decisions about using their cards. But several indicators suggest that disclosures have not been fulfilling their intended purpose. Revolving debt is up, credit card products ...

14 pp.   
Posted: September 2007

Early Intervention and Credit Cardholders: Results of Efforts to Provide Online Financial Education to New-to-Credit and At-Risk Consumers

by Amy Brown and Kimberly Gartner
Cardholders who fail to make on-time payments and subsequently fall delinquent on their accounts not only jeopardize their own credit ratings but also cause financial losses for card issuers. To test whether early intervention, such as reminder calls, mailings, and credit education, ...
16 pp.   
Posted: January 2007

Accessing Credit: The Role of Private Loan Services for Underbanked Clients and Prospects at CircleLending

by Katy Jacob and Helen Payne Watt
Faced with poor credit, many consumers find themselves borrowing from friends and family. CircleLending is a specialty loan administration company that has pioneered the market for managing private loans between relatives and friends. The company helps borrowers to access affordable credit from ...
Posted: December 2006

Market Interest in Alternative Data Sources and Credit Scoring

by Katy Jacob and Rachel Schneider

One important barrier for millions of individuals entering the credit market is that they have no file with one of the three major credit bureaus or a “thin-file” that makes it impossible to calculate a credit score. Commensurate with its increasing interest ...

Posted: December 2006

Reaching Deeper: Using Alternative Data Sources to Increase the Efficacy of Credit Scoring

by Katy Jacob
With consumer debt levels at an all-time high and the credit card and mortgage markets heavily saturated, the financial services industry has begun to turn its attention to the vast untapped pool of consumers who have minimal credit histories but aren’t necessarily ...
10 pp.   
Posted: March 2006

From the Margins to the Mainstream: A Guide to Building Products and Strategies for Underbanked Markets (for chapter links, see below)

The Retail Financial Services Initiative (RFSI) is a three-year project organized by NCIF that seeks to increase the quantity and quality of financial services for unbanked and low- to moderate-income consumers. Starting in October 2003, a group of banks and credit unions ...
Posted: November 11, 2005